Mumbai Diary: Monday Dossier

Sharad Pawar, Uddhav Thackeray and Ghulam Nabi Azad at an event in Mumbai

Standing tall

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray looks at NCP president Sharad Pawar as the latter appears amused when the two along with Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad met at an event in South Mumbai over the weekend. Pic/Ashish Raje

Football for all

A practice session

Come March and Gaysi, a space where the desi LGBTQAI+ community comes together and shares personal stories, will be mentoring a Mumbai-based women's amateur football team called Loudmouths. The idea is to make sports more inclusive for women. They already have a team, which indulges in weekly practice, besides participating in competitions as well.

When the Tahilianis celebrate...

Tarun and Sailaja Tahiliani with sons Jahan and Anand

There was plenty to cheer at Tarun Tahiliani's gala on Friday night.And the most obvious reason was the designer celebrating 25 years of his eponymous brand. To mark the occasion, Tahiliani and Sailaja, or 'Sal', his wife, invited an intimate group of their closest friends, muses, and supporters for a decadent evening at their sprawling New Delhi residence.

Malini Ramani

The atmosphere certainly felt like an evening with friends rather than an industry gathering as former supermodels Meher Jessia and Bhawna Sharma found a quiet spot for some catch-up. It was a proper Tahiliani-style Desi Modern bash - the entire space covered in flowers, candles sparkling in every corner, the air light and heady in conversations, wafting sounds of live Rajasthani folk songs, and sights of large mosaic mirrored elephant sculptures perched next to the pool. The Tahiliani family, led by scions Jahan and Anand, made sure no guest escaped their attention or a refill of their drink.

Bhawna Sharma and Meher Jessia

Friends and designers Malini Ramani, Hanut Singh and Abhishek Gupta, Tarun's sister and owner of Ensemble Tina Tahiliani Parikh, media owner Aroon Puri with wife Rekha, DLF's Timmy Sarna and Pia Singh, and art collector Kiran Nadar were all there, snug in their dazzling winter best. Ameeta Seth Sharma, daughter of cigar baron Chetan Seth, was one of the last guests to arrive at 12.30 am. "Am I late?" she asked a guest friend worriedly. Not a chance. The party had moved to the dance floor.

Kidding around

Although known for his thriller novels, Dan Brown is also a musician. This year, he will channel this passion in his debut picture book Wild Symphony that releases on September 1. It revolves around a certain Maestro Mouse and his musical friends, and comes with original music that can be heard using an interactive app.

Dream come true

All '90s kids grew up singing and doing the iconic Rangeela step. One such who grew up listening to AR Rahman is Nisa Shetty (in pic), a musician based in Mumbai. And it was a dream come true for her when she recorded a song with the legend, You got me, which released this weekend. The process, she told us, started last year, when there was a competition for the same, and she submitted her original song, Thank you. "They got in touch for the recording, which I almost missed because I was working in the US. He was present through the 1 am to 6 am session. He has an encouraging vibe and respects you for the musician you are. It was my goal in 2019 to meet him, and I did so much more," Shetty told this diarist.

Paying tribute to Dr Bhalerao

The theatre community paid tribute to the late Dr Rajaram A Bhalerao at Mumbai Marathi Sahitya Sangh this weekend. Jehan Manekshaw, the head of the Drama School Mumbai, also posted in his memory on social media. "He saw our endeavour with the Drama School Mumbai as a vision for theatre that would give Mumbai Marathi Sahitya Sangh renewed purpose and a continued legacy as strong as the past 100 years. I remember him telling me that I'm crazy enough to have founded a drama school. But he was a man crazy enough to let me. He was a fanatic for making sure that Mumbai had an active and vibrant theatre culture," Manekshaw told this diarist on his way back from the memorial service.

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